Sean Payton Recaps 2013 Saints Draft Class

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Opening Statement: “Right now we are spending a lot of time just going through and preparing for the next phase of this which is signing (undrafted) free agent players, that’ll take place right after the seventh round concludes. I think ...

Opening Statement: “Right now we are spending a lot of time just going through and preparing for the next phase of this which is signing (undrafted) free agent players, that’ll take place right after the seventh round concludes. I think it has been an important part of the process for us every year we just try to go through, every year there are about 40-50 players at least that make rosters so there will be a lot of phone calls, a lot of recruiting going on here pretty soon.”

What did you guys see in a guy like Rufus Johnson?

“One of the things we try to do in the later rounds is look at size, speed and some measurables, we were able to do that with guys like Zach Strief or Marques Colston. He is someone that has that stature, smaller school, he is a player that once the season was over with, he played one of those all-star games and opened up some eyes, but he has those physical stature that you are looking for. We feel like he is a guy that can rush the passer really well. so he can line up one of those outside positions and we will see how he develops. You are looking for some traits that stand out and with him clearly that was the case.”

Rufus became very emotional talking with us, what is it like when a player is that overcome with emotion?

“I think it is one of the neat things about the process is the actual phone call with the drafted player, really from the first round on, you get a wide range of emotions. You really never know what to expect when you make that phone call, in each case it’s different, but it’s part of the process. They have been through a lot hard work, they have been through a lot of expectations in regards of when, so sometimes it can be disappointment maybe because they weren’t drafted earlier but I think by in large it’s always a positive response, there are generally family members there and generally, it’s the end of the process as far as their wait, but it varies. I don’t know if I would describe the conversation I had with him being the same way. It was excitement; you could hear the excitement there. At that moment there is some clarity for the player in regards to where he was going to go.”

Sum up the last few days for the draft

“I think a few things, I think number one we paid attention to the measurables and if you look at each player, their size, their speed (fits what we want). With the defensive players, it’s the stature, even with the left tackle (Terron Armstead) offensively there is athleticism in someone who really did a good job, not only on tape but in regards to skill set, in regards to the way he tested. The same way with the receiver (Kenny Stills), he is someone that runs exceptionally well, he is fluid, and then I think at the very beginning of the draft with Kenny Vaccaro, there is a real good background or body of work the way he plays. So I think that process for the next two weeks where they get ready to come here for the rookie minicamp (will be beneficial). I think what is going to take place here in the next couple of hours (undrafted free agent recruiting), it’s still not over yet. I think this is always an exciting time of the year because you are bringing in new players to your roster, and for me I mentioned this to the staff, when you miss one season, you miss that phase if you will, that element of that 15-20 new faces, be at free agency or draft, and then we are in that second phase where we have players that I see or run into that I haven’t really spent that much time with or probably wouldn’t recognize by name yet. That’ll, over the course of time, get figured out, but it’s always good for the organization and you are always hopeful that this is one of those classes that you can look back on and look at as a building block of what you are doing and what you are trying to do.”

Malcolm Jenkins said you gave him a heads up about drafting Kenny Vaccaro. How did you go about handling that?

“We were speaking about this first pick, and I knew what the first cloud looked like. I said there is a couple of potential tackles, there’s a couple of pass rushers, there’s two corners, one safety. There were players at offensive positions that we weren’t going to take and we wound up taking the safety. Our players understand the nature of this business; they get it. They understand that every year, there’s always going to be an influx of players that are wanting to compete to make a roster. I think Malcolm said it best that for us (that) to be as good as we can as a football team, we have to have an environment that starts with competition and it will bring out the best in all of us,